1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a clothes treating apparatus. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a clothes treating apparatus having a separable heat pump.
2. Background
A clothes treating apparatus is an apparatus for processing various operations associated with clothes, and has a concept of including a washing apparatus for washing clothes, a drying apparatus for drying wet clothes, a refresher for removing odor permeated in clothes or removing wrinkles, and the like.
Clothes treating apparatuses have been developed to solve washing, drying, deodorization and wrinkle removal with one apparatus. Clothes treating apparatuses capable of recovering energy required to produce hot air used for drying of clothes and unused energy discharged to an outside to enhance energy efficiency have been developed. A clothes treating apparatus having a heat pump is an example of such a clothes treating apparatus.
The heat pump may transfer thermal energy contained in hot and humid air flowed from a clothing storage chamber from an evaporator to a refrigerant, and transfer thermal energy contained in the refrigerant to air flowed into the clothing storage chamber through a condenser, thereby producing hot air using waste energy. At this time, hot and humid air may be cooled in the evaporator while transferring energy to the refrigerant, and thus moisture contained in the air may be discharged as condensation water.
For a clothes treating apparatus having such a heat pump, components of the heat pump may be assembled into a cabinet in a fixed manner, and thus only the heat pump may be inseparable. Accordingly, there may be a problem that the heat pump can not be used in various ways.